In this installment, the Breakfast Bunch (Hector, Terrence, and Dee) are punished for a previous infraction (skipping out on a museum tour, see Book 6) by being forced to join the school Mathletes team. Though initially resistant ("Who would voluntarily choose to do math after school? You'd have to be insane."), the trio soon rises to the challenge (inspired by the nastiness of a cut-throat team from a nearby private school). Their success turns into danger, however, when their competitors turn out to be ... mutant mathletes.

Although it's been a while since I read the other books in the series, this one struck me as a tiny bit more lesson-y than the others, with text like "Like it or not, math is everywhere you go", and page after page of (kid-friendly) examples of math questions in the competitions.

Still, Krosoczka maintains his trademark humor. When Dee answers her first competition question correctly, she says: "It's seventy... Not like I care." The janitor is still grouchy (even as he saves the day). The cafeteria food is still sometimes questionable (powdered eggs, gravy for fish sticks). And Lunch Lady and her sidekick Betty still have tons of food-themed spy inventions. Like the "Pineapple Mace", the "Mustard Grappling Hook", and a "Licorice Rope".

I also have to say that as someone who was briefly on the math team (in 7th grade), it is nice to see the Mathletes emerge as the heroes of the school. The Lunch Lady books tend to put a positive spin on geek-dom (with the school bully a not-so-bright football player), but Lunch Lady and the Mutant Mathletes goes a step further, making the math team downright cool.

Fans of the series won't want to miss Lunch Lady and the Mutant Mathletes. If you haven't read the previous books, I do recommend going back to the beginning. Not that you won't be able to figure out what's going on in Book 7, but you'll miss out on a lot of fun. Recommended for younger readers, ages 7 and up.

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (@RandomHouseKids)Publication Date: March 27, 2012Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher

In this installment, the Breakfast Bunch (Hector, Terrence, and Dee) are punished for a previous infraction (skipping out on a museum tour, see Book 6) by being forced to join the school Mathletes team. Though initially resistant ("Who would voluntarily choose to do math after school? You'd have to be insane."), the trio soon rises to the challenge (inspired by the nastiness of a cut-throat team from a nearby private school). Their success turns into danger, however, when their competitors turn out to be ... mutant mathletes.

Although it's been a while since I read the other books in the series, this one struck me as a tiny bit more lesson-y than the others, with text like "Like it or not, math is everywhere you go", and page after page of (kid-friendly) examples of math questions in the competitions.

Still, Krosoczka maintains his trademark humor. When Dee answers her first competition question correctly, she says: "It's seventy... Not like I care." The janitor is still grouchy (even as he saves the day). The cafeteria food is still sometimes questionable (powdered eggs, gravy for fish sticks). And Lunch Lady and her sidekick Betty still have tons of food-themed spy inventions. Like the "Pineapple Mace", the "Mustard Grappling Hook", and a "Licorice Rope".

I also have to say that as someone who was briefly on the math team (in 7th grade), it is nice to see the Mathletes emerge as the heroes of the school. The Lunch Lady books tend to put a positive spin on geek-dom (with the school bully a not-so-bright football player), but Lunch Lady and the Mutant Mathletes goes a step further, making the math team downright cool.

Fans of the series won't want to miss Lunch Lady and the Mutant Mathletes. If you haven't read the previous books, I do recommend going back to the beginning. Not that you won't be able to figure out what's going on in Book 7, but you'll miss out on a lot of fun. Recommended for younger readers, ages 7 and up.

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (@RandomHouseKids)Publication Date: March 27, 2012Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher

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